


auld lang syne (the final countdown)

by orphan_account



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-26 15:58:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13239132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The Party (and Steve and Joyce and Jim) ring in the New Year





	auld lang syne (the final countdown)

The cabin is cramped with people, but for once El doesn’t mind.

Steve and Dustin are in the kitchen, helping with the dishes. Will, Max and Lucas are curled up on the sofa. Joyce and Hopper are sharing cigarettes on the porch. El and Mike are in her room, making a photo album. 

( _El and Mike_ )

“I like this one,” El says, pointing to a picture Jonathan took of them at the Snow Ball. Her hair looks so fancy.

“Me too,” Mike smiles, and looks down at his watch. 30 seconds. El yawns. “Are you tired?”

El shakes her head. “No. It’s almost midnight. Almost 1985.”

Mike nods, “It is. Hey, did Hopper tell you about New Years traditions?” 

“No,” She shakes her head. “I know one though. From my soaps.”

“Which one?”

“The kiss,” El says. “You’re supposed to kiss at midnight. Like the fairy tales.”

Mike blushes so hard he wonders how it doesn’t reflect off El’s face. “Yeah, like in fairy tales.”

“Why?” She asks. “No one has told me why.”

11 seconds. “Not sure actually-”

“TEN NINE EIGHT-” He hears from the living room. El reaches over and grabs his hand.  _SEVEN SIX_

“Will you kiss me?” She asks, her voice soft in a juxtaposition to the loud cacophony outside.  _FIVE FOUR_

“I will,” He says, and resists the urge to say “anytime” or worse, “always.”  _THREE TWO_

He leans over and kisses her.

“ _ONE_.” 

Faintly, their friends cheer outside, but her hand is on his cheek and he’s still holding her other hand and her lips are so soft, so he doesn’t really hear them.

They pull away.

“Happy New Year, El,” Mike says. “I’m glad to have you home.”

She smiles, and kisses him again.

( _Lucas and Max_ )

“Thanks for inviting me to your lame party, nerds,” Max says with a playful smile. “It’s way more fun than I’d thought it’d be.”

“What’d you expect?” Will asks as Lucas playfully rolls his eyes. “Us playing D&D all night?”

“Honestly? Yes,” Max says. Lucas playfully kicks at her foot, so she kicks back. And soon they’re both playing footsie.

“Alright, I’m gonna see if Dustin and Steve need help,” Will says with a laugh, excusing himself. 

Lucas soon grabs Max’s leg, but she twists and suddenly they fall off the sofa, laughing their heads off. 

“Wait!” Dustin calls from the kitchen, causing them both to stop. “The ball’s about to drop!”

“Maybe yours will too, kid,” Steve says, causing Dustin to smack him with a dishtowel. 

They all laugh, and Max pulls Lucas up so they’re both standing. “We have to cheer, screaming’s the best part,” Max says.

“I love screaming,” Lucas says, smiling at her. 

Max turns slightly to hide her blush, and that’s right when the countdown starts. “ _TEN!”_ They start screaming out. “ _NINE! EIGHT! SEVEN, SIX! FIVE_ -”

Lucas wonders if he should kiss Max. They have before, but he doesn’t know

“ _FOUR THREE_ -” The other boys are shouting, but Max leans over and kisses him.

Lucas’s eyes stay open, but then she doesn’t immediately pull away like at the Snow Ball. That’s when he closes his eyes.

( _Steve, Will and Dustin_ )

“They were being so ridiculous,” Will whines as he joins the two well-coifed boys in the kitchen, just a couple feet from Max and Lucas. But still, the distance helps.

“Are you still wearing a dish towel?” Dustin yanks it from the older boy’s shoulder. “You’re an idiot.”

Steve rolls his eyes. “I give the fashion advice here, bub, not you?”

“‘ _Bub’-_?”

“Guys, jeez, you might be worse than the lovebirds over there,” Will gestures to them, and the three look over on the TV where the host cuts to the Times Square Ball.

“Wait, the ball’s about to drop!” Dustin points out excitedly. 

“Maybe yours will too kid,” Steve mocks, causing Dustin to hit him. 

“I love screaming,” Lucas says dreamily from in front of the TV, probably agreeing with Max, and Dustin and Will share a playful roll of their eyes. 

“I  _love_  screaming,” Dustin mocks, but Lucas looks like he doesn’t hear him, too enamored. 

The countdown starts, and before it ends, Lucas and Max are making out. 

“Ugh, is everyone dating now?” Will asks anxiously. 

Steve looks over at him, and sees the nerves. He doesn’t know the cause, but he starts to sing, badly, “It’s the final countdown!” And he tries to imitate the riff.

“What are you doing?” Dustin asks. 

“Singing, duh,” Steve wraps an arm around Dustin’s shoulder and keeps singing that same part of the chorus. But, instead of mocking him, Dustin and Will join in. 

Even though it’s technically  _after_  the final countdown. 

( _Joyce and Jim_ )

“They’re gonna kiss,” Jim says, exhaling his cigarette into the frosty air.

“Hmm?” Joyce 

“At midnight. El and the Wheeler boy.”

She smothers a snicker, at both the entire situation and also Hop’s recent refusal to call Mike by his first name. “Are you so sure?” 

Jim rolls his eyes. “I swear, it’s all they want to do now. It’s ridiculous.”

“Right,” Joyce nods  _very_  seriously. “We  _never_ went around kissing people when we were their age.”

Jim scowls. “It’s  _different_.”

“How?”

Jim keeps the scowl on his face, causing her to laugh. The scowl curls back into a smile, and they both grin at each other in the moonlight.

“What do you think’s gonna get fucked up this year?” He asks, staring back out into the woods.

Joyce sighs, snuggling into the warmth of his jacket he’s letting her borrow. “Hopefully, nothing. But I hope it’s that Billy kid’s face.”

Jim nods in agreement. “Steve won’t let me arrest him, so we can hope justice prevails in other ways.”

Before either can say anymore, they can hear the countdown from inside the cabin.

“There they go,” Hopper says, stubbing out his cigarette.

For a fleeting moment, Joyce thinks of Bob Newby, her own personal superhero. If he were still here, he’d be talking about all the new technological releases and he’d kiss her sweetly. 

“El told me why people kiss at midnight,” He says and Joyce extinguishes her own cigarette. “It was on one of her damn stories.” 

“Why?” She’s always wondered but never bothered to ask.

“Apparently,” He says. “If you don’t, you’re lonely all year.”

“ _ONE!”_ The kids cheer from inside.

Neither of them move toward each other, until Joyce grabs onto his sleeve before he can stand.

“Hop?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t wanna be lonely,” She says, and leans over and kisses him gently on the lips.

**Author's Note:**

> happy new year!!!


End file.
